Aundrea Lacy, the self-proclaimed "Brownie Babe," says her life revolves around "the three Bs—brownies, book and baby."

Not coincidentally, all are named Luv.

There's Luv's Brownies, the name of her successful baking company; Luv Story: From Homemade Brownie to My Own Internet Bakery, the title of her self-published account of creating her business; and there's Luv, the name she gave the Christmas doll her parents gave her at the age of three.

Now living on the edge of the Rose Garden, Lacy moved from her native San Francisco to attend San José State University. In her senior year, a counselor helped her discover that dyslexia was the reason she failed the same math class five times.

"Once I was diagnosed, they lifted the five Fs and let me substitute a class in critical thinking for the math requirement," Lacy says.

While she was earning her bachelors degree in mass communications, Lacy was working at Hewlett Packard, continuing there after graduating in 1993.

Ironically, her dyslexia is what helped her create her flavorful brownies.

Wanting to thank the friend who got her the initial interview at HP, Lacy asked him what he'd like.

"Just bake me some brownies," was the request, so Lacy headed for the kitchen.

"I was making them from scratch, using a recipe on the back of a box of unsweetened chocolate. I transposed the recipe and doubled the chocolate by accident. I didn't know I'd done it," she says.

The raves from her friend resulted in orders from other co-workers. Soon, in addition to her regular job at HP, Lacy was moonlighting as a brownie baker. She also started work on her MBA and expects to graduate from Golden Gate University this year.

After one particularly trying day, Lacy says, "I came home from work really frustrated and I started praying. I prayed for 24 hours and when I got up, I looked at my doll Luv and I thought of brownies shaped like hearts and it came to me."

Lacy started researching and found baking pans to produce her signature heart shapes. She also located a licensed bakery in San Mateo, which she rents by the hour, allowing her "to bake only when I have orders."

When Lacy was laid off from HP in 2000, she decided to focus on her Luv's Brownies.

"I had my customer base and I started participating in bridal fairs and art and wine festivals. It's all been word of mouth," she says.

At one bridal fair, her brownies so impressed one woman that she wanted to immediately order them for a relative's wedding. The woman's boyfriend discouraged her because, he later told Lacy, he decided if she liked them so much he'd use Luv's Brownies to propose.

"She had told him she thought they were the best brownies she'd ever tasted," Luv Says.

"He decided to take her to New York to propose. I had to ship the brownies to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and make sure they understood not to refrigerate them. Then I had to arrange for them to be at a certain restaurant at a certain time and he wanted them warm, so I had to instruct the restaurant on how to warm them.

"Of course she said yes and—," Lacy adds with a hint of satisfaction. "—she recognized the brownies."

Lacy launched Luv's Brownies on the Internet in 1996. Click on her website and you'll find individual 4-inch brownies in a gift box for $5.50; coffee mugs with a half-dozen bite size brownies for $15; a heart-shape gift tin with a two dozen bite size brownies for $22; and gift baskets from $35 to $60. There's also an extensive line of wedding favors and cakes.

All of Luv's Brownies are available with or without walnuts and there is a sugar-free version.

Much of Lacy's business is seasonal. Around Valentine's Day, she says she can easily sell $5,000 worth of brownies a day.

In 1999, Essence magazine featured Lacy in a profile on women in food industry professions.

An invitation to appear on the Montel Williams television show followed and Lacy spoke about her business and her battle with dyslexia on the show, which aired in 2000.

Between her television appearance and additional articles in publications like Today's Black Woman, Lacy started receiving letters.

To date, she says she's received more than 2,500 letters. She says her book is her way of answering the letters and sharing her advice on starting your own business.

Additionally, she's hoping to market a new version of her doll, Luv. She envisions the new Luv model as a speaking doll, sharing inspirational thoughts in Spanish as well as English.

Luv's Brownies are available online at http://www.luvsbrownies.com or can be ordered by calling 408.881.0759.